Macomb Township elections officials on Wednesday defended themselves against allegations of extensive voter fraud, noting they are trained to root out election-year stunts such as people signing the name “Mickey Mouse” on a nominating petition for one candidate.

At issue are claims made in a lawsuit filed against Macomb Township alleging supervisor candidate Janet Dunn had won a spot on the August primary ballot through fraudulent actions by Clerk Mike Koehs.

But elections officials the township board meeting on Wednesday evening provided a detailed explanation for issues raised in the lawsuit, concluding the charges were made in an effort to confuse voters who must choose from several candidates for the top township positions in two weeks.

“I am here to tell you that we meticulously check every candidate’s position for validity and genuineness,” said Ed Carey of the clerk’s office. “We found no evidence of extensive voter fraud. These claims are utterly preposterous and personally offensive.”

Advertisement

Dunn, a longtime township trustee who is one of three Republican candidates for supervisor, agreed, saying “false accusations” over how she collected signatures on her petition were “primarily a political attempt to smear my good name.”

The lawsuit was filed by a township business owner, Mark Maiuri, an area business owner who at Wednesday’s meeting called for a full investigation into the matter and also asked for third party such as the Macomb County Clerk’s Office to oversee the Aug. 7 primary election.

According to the lawsuit, Dunn collected all of her 240 petition signatures in one day, on May 14, the day before the candidate filing deadline.

But Koehs, a political ally of Dunn, said the signatures were actually collected over several weeks. Dunn did sign the sheets on May 14 as the circulator as she wrapped up the paperwork. Only eight of the signatures were gathered on May 14, he said.

Another claim made in the lawsuit is that a prominent handwriting expert hired by John Johnson -- campaign manager for Republican supervisor candidate Charles Missig -- supplied an affidavit that asserted Dunn’s 18 petition pages had duplicate signatures and some signatures that appeared to be signed by the same person. Among those signatures that the expert said appeared twice, with two different styles of handwriting, is the name of Salvatore DiCaro, director of the township Parks and Recreation Department, according to court documents.

DiCaro at Wednesday’s meeting said one of the signatures was his, the other was his 24-year-old son, Salvatore DiCaro III. Other officials said duplicated signatures are typical in the process and that’s why the clerk’s office does such a thorough job in reviewing the information.

Elections officials were also upset with Supervisor Mark Grabow who told reporters he would request a criminal investigation of the petitions by the Michigan State Police. Koehs said the supervisor never asked about the charges prior to issuing a statement to the media.

“His actions are wrong, self-serving and demonstrate his contempt for his peers and his employees,” Koehs said.

Grabow -- who faces the challenge of Missig and Dunn for the Republican nomination for supervisor in August -- said he had been concerned by the claims made in the lawsuit and felt it was everyone’s best interest to have the charges investigated to “make sure we’re clean and transparent.”

“Let’s clear the air and be done with it,” Grabow said.

Koehs has said the accusations are a continuation of the bad blood between Tina’s Country Tavern and the township hall, which were sparked by numerous zoning and land-use fights over the business, located on North Avenue near 23 Mile Road. Lawsuits punctuated the standoff and the owner of the restaurant, Cathy Imbronone, is running for clerk, hoping to oust Koehs.

Koehs pointed out one of Imbronone’s petition sheets contained the signature of Mickey Mouse with a printed name of Walt Disney. He said the staff did not count the signature and did not file a lawsuit over it.

After the meeting, Imbronone acknowledged she had missed the phony name when she was reviewing the sheets, but credited the clerk’s staff with finding it.

“I was appalled that they used a public forum such as the board meeting to grandstand and campaign like they did,” she said of the employees who spoke during public comment. “Most of those who spoke tonight were township employees, whose jobs depend on Mike Koehs being re-elected, so keep that in mind.”